Michelle Carter's parents Gail and David Carter depart Taunton District Court, in Taunton, Mass., following a hearing Monday, Feb. 11, 2019 where defendant Michelle Carter's 15-month prison term was upheld. Carter, who sent her suicidal boyfriend a barrage of text messages urging him to kill himself was jailed Monday on an involuntary manslaughter conviction nearly five years after he died in a truck filled with toxic gas.

(AP Photo/Steven Senne)

Michelle Carter, 22, center, is led away by court officers after a hearing on her prison sentence in Taunton District Court in Taunton, Mass. Monday, February 11, 2019. Carter was jailed Monday on an involuntary manslaughter conviction. She was convicted in 2017 of involuntary manslaughter and sentenced to a 15 month prison term for encouraging 18-year-old Conrad Roy, III to kill himself when she instructed him over the phone to get back in his truck that was filling with toxic gas in July 2014.

(Mark Stockwell/The Sun Chronicle via AP, Pool)

Becky Maki, aunt of texting suicide victim Conrad Roy III, is emotional as she faces reporters outside Taunton District Court, in Taunton, Mass., following a hearing Monday, Feb. 11, 2019 where defendant Michelle Carter's 15-month prison term was upheld. Carter, who sent her suicidal boyfriend a barrage of text messages urging him to kill himself was jailed Monday on an involuntary manslaughter conviction nearly five years after he died in a truck filled with toxic gas.

(AP Photo/Steven Senne)

Michelle Carter, 22, second left, appears in Taunton District Court in Taunton, Mass. Monday, February 11, 2019 for a hearing on her prison sentence as lawyer Joe Cataldo speaks at the podium. Carter was convicted in 2017 of involuntary manslaughter and sentenced to a 15-month prison term for encouraging 18-year-old Conrad Roy, III to kill himself when she instructed him over the phone to get back in his truck that was filling with toxic gas in July 2014. Her sentence was put on hold while the court reviewed the case and the defense argument that her actions were not criminal. Carter's conviction was upheld.

(Mark Stockwell/The Sun Chronicle via AP, Pool)

Joe Cataldo, center, defense attorney for Michelle Carter, faces reporters outside Taunton District Court, in Taunton, Mass., following a hearing Monday, Feb. 11, 2019 where Carter's 15-month prison term was upheld. Carter, who sent her suicidal boyfriend Conrad Roy III a barrage of text messages urging him to kill himself, was jailed Monday on an involuntary manslaughter conviction nearly five years after he died in a truck filled with toxic gas.

(AP Photo/Steven Senne)

Conrad Roy, Jr., right, father of texting suicide victim Conrad Roy III, and Conrad III's aunt Becky Maki hug after a hearing Monday, February 11, 2019 where defendant Michelle Carter's 15 month prison term was upheld in Taunton District Court in Taunton, Mass. Carter was convicted in 2017 on involuntary manslaughter after she talked Roy into getting back into his truck that was filled with toxic fumes.

(AP POOL/Mark Stockwell)/The Sun Chronicle via AP)

Michelle Carter, 22, appears in Taunton District Court in Taunton, Mass. Monday, February 11, 2019 for a hearing on her prison sentence. Carter was convicted in 2017 of involuntary manslaughter and sentenced to a 15 month prison term for encouraging 18-year-old Conrad Roy, III to kill himself when she instructed him over the phone to get back in his truck that was filling with toxic gas in July 2014. Her sentence was put on hold while the court reviewed the case and the defense argument that her actions were not criminal. Her conviction was upheld. She is being led away by court officers after the hearing.

(Mark Stockwell/The Sun Chronicle via AP, Pool)

Michelle Carter, 22, appears in Taunton District Court in Taunton, Mass. Monday, February 11, 2019 for a hearing on her prison sentence. Carter was convicted in 2017 of involuntary manslaughter and sentenced to a 15 month prison term for encouraging 18-year-old Conrad Roy, III to kill himself when she instructed him over the phone to get back in his truck that was filling with toxic gas in July 2014. Her sentence was put on hold while the court reviewed the case and the defense argument that her actions were not criminal. Her conviction was upheld. Carter was jailed Monday on an involuntary manslaughter conviction.

(Mark Stockwell/The Sun Chronicle via AP, Pool)

Becky Maki, aunt of texting suicide victim Conrad Roy III, is emotional as she faces reporters outside Taunton District Court, in Taunton, Mass., following a hearing Monday, Feb. 11, 2019 where defendant Michelle Carter's 15-month prison term was upheld. Carter, who sent her suicidal boyfriend a barrage of text messages urging him to kill himself was jailed Monday on an involuntary manslaughter conviction nearly five years after he died in a truck filled with toxic gas.

(AP Photo/Steven Senne)

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1 week ago

Woman begins jail sentence for texting suicide conviction

The Associated Press — By ALANNA DURKIN RICHER - Associated Press

TAUNTON, Mass. (AP) — A Massachusetts woman who sent her suicidal boyfriend a barrage of text messages urging him to kill himself was jailed Monday on an involuntary manslaughter conviction nearly five years after he died in a truck filled with toxic gas.

Michelle Carter was sentenced to 15 months in jail in 2017 for her role in the death of Conrad Roy III, but the judge allowed her to remain free while she appealed in state court. Massachusetts' highest court upheld her conviction last week, saying her actions caused Roy's death.

A lawyer for Carter had argued the 22-year-old should stay out of jail while her defense team takes her case to the U.S. Supreme Court. Her attorneys said in court documents that she has no prior criminal record, hasn't tried to flee, and has been receiving mental health treatment.

But a judge ruled Monday that she should start her sentence. Earlier in the day, Massachusetts' highest court denied an emergency motion filed by her lawyers to keep her out of jail.

Carter showed no discernible emotion as she was taken into custody, though her shoulders sagged as she stood and prepared to be led away.

Roy's aunt expressed relief Monday, saying his family believes justice had been served even though the case had been a long and difficult ordeal for them.

"We hope that no one else ever has to feel this pain," Becky Maki said. "His life mattered."

An attorney for Carter vowed to continue to appeal.

"Make no mistake, this legal fight is not over," Joe Cataldo said.

Carter was 17 when Roy, 18, took his own life in Fairhaven, a town on Massachusetts' south coast in July 2014. Her case garnered international attention and provided a disturbing look at teenage depression and suicide.

Carter and Roy both struggled with depression, and Roy had previously tried to kill himself. Their relationship consisted mostly of texting and other electronic communications.

In dozens of text messages revealed during her sensational trial, Carter pushed Roy to end his life and chastised him when he hesitated. As Roy made excuses to put off his plans, her texts became more insistent.

"You keep pushing it off and say you'll do it but u never do. It's always gonna be that way if u don't take action," Carter texted him he on the day he died.

But the juvenile court judge focused his guilty verdict on the fact that Carter told Roy over the phone to get back in his truck when it was filling with carbon monoxide. The judge said Carter had a duty to call the police or Roy's family, but instead listened on the phone as he died.

"After she convinced him to get back into the carbon monoxide filled truck, she did absolutely nothing to help him: she did not call for help or tell him to get out of the truck as she listened to him choke and die," Supreme Judicial Court Justice Scott Kafker wrote in the court's opinion affirming her conviction.

At trial, Carter's lawyer argued Carter had initially tried to talk Roy out of suicide and encouraged him to get help. Her attorney said Roy was determined to kill himself and nothing Carter did could change that.

Her appellate attorneys said there was no evidence that Roy would have lived if Carter had called for help. They also argued there wasn't enough evidence to prove that Carter told Roy to get back in his truck.

Her phone call with Roy wasn't recorded, but prosecutors pointed to a rambling text that Carter sent to a friend two months later in which she said called Roy's death her fault and said she told Roy to "get back in" the truck.

Daniel Marx, who argued the case before the Supreme Judicial Court, said last week that the court's ruling "stretches the law to assign blame for a tragedy that was not a crime."

"It has very troubling implications, for free speech, due process, and the exercise of prosecutorial discretion, that should concern us all," he said.